The president proposed mandatory background checks for all gun purchases, a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and a crackdown on illegal weapons trafficking.

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California already requires background checks before gun purchases can be made, and has a ban in place on high-capacity magazines.

California also requires a 10-day waiting period before gun purchases can be finalized.

State Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, lauded the president for also addressing mental health issues.

“I think we need to pay at least as much attention to mental health, and we need to stand behind (it) with real money, services, and investments that we know work,” Steinberg said.

Meanwhile, gun sales in California jumped dramatically in the two weeks following the Newtown, Conn., massacre.

The state Department of Justice reported more than 77,000 applications for gun purchases were approved in the two weeks following the Newtown shooting -- more than twice as many as the same time the previous year.

Matt Gray, a victim of gun violence who now opposes more regulations, said the new federal proposals was merely political posturing.

“All this podium pounding about firearm legislation has done more to increase firearm sales than anything else,” Gray added.